


A Prince, a Hero

by midnight_marimba



Category: Dragon Quest XI
Genre: Act 3 spoilers, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gratuitous Hand-Holding, Serena is a badass, Serena tells a joke, Tallronica, comedic Faris, minor past one-sided Frysabel/Krystalinda, moving past expectations, political courtship, serious Faris, tall!veronica, there's only one horse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:22:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29324643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnight_marimba/pseuds/midnight_marimba
Summary: Faris means well when he offers to escort Frysabel to Arboria so that she can help break a curse.  But when Frysabel leaves him behind on the road, he needs Serena’s help to keep out of trouble.Along the way, Serena begins to think that maybe she doesn’t mind the job of keeping Faris out of trouble...
Relationships: Prince Faris/Sena | Serena (Dragon Quest XI), Veronica (Dragon Quest XI)/Queen Frysabel
Comments: 18
Kudos: 8
Collections: Valenslimes Day 2021





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [IcyHotHeart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyHotHeart/gifts).



> Hi Icy, Happy Valenslimes!!
> 
> I hope you don’t mind the bonus ship in here, I was just trying to solve a geography problem and it jumped up and wrote itself in. I also hope you will forgive my relative ignorance when it comes to horses; I have attempted some research but am not so much more informed than the characters involved. Anyway this was a blast to write and I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> General notes: this fic is unconnected to my other fics. (This Faris is especially unconnected to my other Farises.) Act 3 / postgame spoilers.

“Welcome to Arboria, Your Majesty,” Veronica said, hands on her hips and a smile across her face, her volume and posture making up for her small size.

Serena nodded along, letting Veronica take the lead as usual, but smiling her own welcome for Queen Frysabel. Then she tilted her head to the side, curious. “Did you come here all alone, Your Majesty?”

“No. Well. Sort of.” Frysabel looked away for a moment. “My, ah, escort was taking his time, and I did not want to tarry.”

“What kind of escort did you bring?” Veronica asked.

“Well, you see,” Frysabel said, then paused with an odd expression crossing her face. “There comes a time in any young ruler’s life when she must consider matters of marriage.”

“Who are you quoting?” Veronica asked wryly.

“Oh, take your pick. My father, Yggdrasil keep him. My maid. Six different well-meaning nobles.” Frysabel’s mouth twitched. “Krystalinda.”

“Is Krystalinda proposing at last?” Serena asked before she could think better of it, a dozen gossip sessions with Veronica having planted the idea of romance between Frysabel and the witch firmly in her mind until she forgot it was only speculation.

Frysabel gave Serena a crooked smile and adjusted her glasses. “I’m afraid the crush was the other way around, and she turned me down. Just laughed, patted me on the head, and told me I could try again in a hundred years, when I’m older.”

“Oh. Oh, I’m so sorry. Oh, there I go, putting my foot in my mouth,” Serena said and pressed a hand over her mouth.

Frysabel shrugged and offered a better smile. “It’s all right. It was hard to work up too heavy of a broken heart over her when she started making a point to treat me like a child for a couple weeks. I’ll always admire her, but I don’t think I’d jump at the chance if she changed her mind right now.”

“Well, who is your suitor now, then?” Veronica asked, never one to dwell too long on uncomfortable feelings.

“Prince Faris.”

“Oh!” Serena exclaimed, tentatively optimistic on behalf of their queenly friend.

“What?!” Veronica squawked at the same time. “That —”

“Veronica!” Serena scolded, alert enough to realize that Veronica’s bluntness was likely to be rude, given the first impression she’d never quite let go of. Veronica had the good grace to look the tiniest bit embarrassed.

“Well, I’ve always known I might marry for political advantage,” Frysabel said with a small smile. “If I can’t find a beautiful, powerful witch to marry, I can’t say that I have any very strong feelings about the matter.”

“Faris, though?” Veronica said.

“Veronica,” Serena said again in a warning tone. She turned to Frysabel and added, “He might not be a powerful witch, and maybe he’s been a bit of a late bloomer in other ways, but he has his good qualities, too. Don’t you think so, Veronica?”

Of course Veronica knew very well that Serena, herself, had very frequently been called a late bloomer. Veronica, in fact, called Serena a late bloomer all the time.

Veronica crossed her arms, looked away, and cleared her throat. She raised her voice again and asked Frysabel, “Well, where did you leave him? Do we need to go rescue him?”

“He was on the road, bundled in the best traveling gear we have to offer, riding a very capable horse that is well suited to the terrain and climate. But he refused to gallop, even though the road is as fine as it ever gets, and I did not wish to keep you waiting all day for me when we have things to be getting on with.”

“You left him alone on the road?” Serena asked, a little worried in spite of her defense of the prince.

Frysabel waved a hand dismissively. “Such a great knight should certainly be able to handle himself. He said so himself. His horse will follow after the one I rode to the waystation at the base of the mountain. The monsters are not even bothering to approach the road these days. And the day is cool enough that the ice ladders I left to scale the cliffs will linger without melting. I made them with plenty of texture for the sake of good traction. He should be fine.”

Serena traded another look with Veronica, who raised an eyebrow. But Frysabel spoke before either of them could weigh in, immediately distracting both of the twins from the subject.

“I’m sure you don’t want to make small talk about the journey when you’ve already been waiting so long for this! I have the counterspell memorized and ready, if you’re prepared to trust me. Or I have some notes about it if you want to review —”

“I trust you!” Veronica interrupted. “Please, I am so ready to be done with this curse. Do you know how exasperating it is to still have to ask for help every single time I want to get something off the top shelf in the kitchen? Anyway, after all of our correspondence, I know perfectly well that this is more your school of magic than either of ours.”

“All right then,” Frysabel said, a genuine smile filling her face. “Then close your eyes and hold still, and I shall begin.”

Serena forgot about Faris and everything else as Frysabel adjusted her glasses, nodded to herself, then raised her hands and began chanting.

She watched as Veronica took a deep breath, held it, and let it out, creating a little cloud of fog in the briskly cool air — no, not fog, smoke. Magical smoke, forming a little cloud in front of her unnaturally small sister, and then spreading, growing, surrounding, hiding Veronica from view.

Serena watched the cloud of smoke grow, holding her own breath and clasping her hand together tightly enough to hurt. She could see Frysabel through the edge of the cloud, but she couldn’t see her sister at all.

Then Frysabel shouted the last few words of her chant and made a sharp upwards motion with her hand. The smoke shot upwards into the sky to disappear, and at last there was Veronica, just as tall as Serena, as tall as she was supposed to be. The original-sized version of her signature red dress looked strangely stretched-out after so much time looking at the child-sized version of it.

“It worked! Serena, it worked!” Veronica crowed triumphantly.

“Oh, Veronica! I’m so, so glad.”

Serena took a step forward, thinking to joyfully embrace her sister, but Veronica was already turning to exuberantly hug the visiting queen. “Frysabel, I could kiss you!”

“I — oh,” Frysabel looked startled, and her cheeks turned pink as she returned the hug. “Oh, you just meant...Well! I am very happy to have helped!”

Veronica pulled away and started to turn towards Serena, but her eyes caught on Frysabel’s expression. Her own eyes and smile widened just a little bit, before she laughed and stepped over to deliver Serena’s expected hug, obviously too happy about being free of the curse to instantly follow up on the probably-accidental flirtation.

Although Serena knew her sister well enough to know that probably wasn’t the end of it. Not after months upon months of Veronica grumbling about her own inability to so much as wink at a cute girl, every time she spotted Serena reading a romance novel.

“Serena, I’m going to go steal some of your clothes,” Veronica declared as she stepped away, visibly brimming over with satisfaction over the statement, because after all, they’d thought nothing of swapping outfits for their whole lives until suddenly, for the past couple of years, they couldn’t swap clothing at all.

“I expect I ought to pay my respects to your elder while I am in town,” Frysabel said, still a little flushed.

“Great. We can walk you over there, and we’ll come meet you in a little bit?”

  


* * *

  


“Serenica’s dress?” Serena looked Veronica over, faintly startled.

“You don’t mind, do you?”

“No, of course I don’t. You do have as much claim as I do. And it’s not like I’m eager to wear it in this town.”

“Well, I’m not wearing it for anyone from this town, am I?” Veronica said, waving a gloved hand and adjusting her hair. She’d undone her braids but hadn’t brushed it out, so her hair fell in waves down her back.

“Are you sure you should really be flirting with her now, of all times? While someone else is courting her?”

“What, Faris?” Veronica raised her eyebrows.

“Veronica, please. I realize he didn’t make the best first impression on you, but people can change. We can get better.” She hadn’t quite meant to lump herself in with Faris so directly until the words came out of her mouth, but once they had, she decided she didn’t mind at all. After her own magic had taken so long to come in and be useful in her childhood, she never cared to write off anyone as a lost cause. “You haven’t even seen him in over a year.”

“All right, all right, point taken. I’ll give him a fair chance. Long as he doesn’t try to take credit for our hard work again, I’ll play nice. But you heard what Frysabel said. She’s longing for a beautiful witch. I’m sorry to say, I don’t think Faris has much of a chance in that arena, and if Krystalinda’s gone and boxed herself into a mom role, I figure I’ve got better odds than just about anyone. Plus, she clearly doesn’t care about Faris, not like that. I figure, if I can win her over in a night, I’m doing both of them a favor. Better to make my move now rather than after they’ve both resigned themselves to their fate, right?”

“Well. Maybe so.”

“Besides. It would be a shame to waste a minute more of this,” Veronica added, waving a hand at her freshly adult form and grinning.

Serena laughed, suddenly reminded what a self-esteem boost it was to have a self-confident identical twin praising their shared appearance. Of course, she figured Veronica’s open confidence probably gave her an edge between the two of them when it came to attractiveness, but she still always felt a little better about herself after one of Veronica’s bragging sessions.

She took her own turn to rifle through the closet, and she pulled out a heavy cloak from the depths, knowing she’d need it on the Snaerfelt without Veronica’s handy warmth cantrips.

“What’s that for? Were you going somewhere?” Veronica asked.

“Well, I figured you would appreciate some alone time on your date, won’t you? And I thought I ought to just pop down the mountain and look for Faris.”

“By yourself?” Veronica asked, visibly startled.

Serena raised her eyebrows. “Shouldn’t I?”

“Oh, well, it’s just that you don’t usually...I mean, of course, you’ll be fine. It’s not like there’s anything terribly malicious in the wilderness anymore, since we took care of things,” Veronica said, waving a hand vaguely upwards to suggest Cetacea or the Dark Star. “Even your offensive magic isn’t half bad these days. Are you going to take your spear?”

“Yes, I am going to take my spear,” Serena said, long resigned to everyone in her family being a little on the overprotective side.

“All right. See you around sundown, then.” For a moment, that sounded like a goodbye, but then Veronica suddenly turned to look at her. “Hey, listen, let’s go celebrate soon with just the two of us, okay? I mean, I don’t want to abandon Frysabel during her first-ever visit to Arboria, even if she wasn’t brilliant and gorgeous, but you and I should go do something fun together, too. Maybe we can go back to that bar in Hotto and get our revenge by making up really awful haikus.”

Serena laughed, feeling her spirits rise before she’d even realized she was feeling down over the idea that Veronica would rather celebrate the first day of her restoration by focusing on someone else. “Well, it’s a little like a bonus birthday, I suppose, so it’s fair that you pick. If that’s what you want to do with your reclaimed maturity, I’ll be happy to go along.”

“Great. I’ll look forward to it.” Veronica grinned at the teasing, and the sisters traded a wave as Serena settled her spear on her back and turned to leave.


	2. Chapter 2

Serena heard Faris before she saw him.

“I promise I’ll get you something nice to eat if you just hold still for a minute! Please? Please?”

“Faris? Ah, Prince Faris?” Serena corrected herself, realizing that her adventuring party had never stood on formality when talking about Faris, but that didn’t mean she could forgo manners when meeting with a prince in person. Yet she couldn’t help but keep her voice soft, after years of stories and study to warn her against making too much noise in the Snaerfelt wilderness, lest she summon monsters.

She evidently spoke too softly to get Faris’s attention, because his pleading continued. “Please, Lady Thorborg. Wouldn’t you like a nice roof? You can hang out with your buddy! Her Majesty Frysabel says you are buddies. She wouldn’t joke about that, now would she? Not that I can tell if she ever makes jokes.”

Serena reached an opening in the cliff walls lining the path and finally laid eyes on the wayward prince. He appeared to be following a large, shaggy mare around a small grove of the few hardy fruit-bearing trees that grew in the region. The horse lifted her head to take a bite of fruit from the tree, and Faris took a few steps toward the creature from behind, only to have her step away from him toward the next tree.

Faris sighed, waited until the horse stopped for another bite, and dashed forward, reaching mittened hands for the reins. The horse tossed her head and trotted away, putting an extra few paces between the two of them, and Faris slowed back to a crawl, shoulders slumping.

More movement caught Serena’s eye. Evidently she wasn’t the only one drawn closer by Faris’s unconcern for stealth. A pair of sabrecubs began making a move as he wandered past them.

“Prince Faris! On your left!” Serena called, a little louder than before.

“Ah!” He jumped at the sound of her voice and spun towards her instead of facing the threat. Dismayed, she gripped her spear and started running towards him at the same time as the oversized kittens leapt towards his unprotected back.

Or maybe not unprotected. He was wearing an awfully puffy looking coat and thick snow pants. He didn’t seem to notice when the sabrecubs latched onto his back and started to try to chew their way through.

“Who? What? Oh! Lady Serena?”

Serena blinked, a little startled by the fact that Faris knew her by name, but she put that aside for the sake of solving the current problem. “Your Highness, please turn around, so I can, um…”

She hesitated, trying to figure out how to phrase “remove the man-eating cats from your back” without panicking him and making the job harder. She hesitated too long, because he looked over his shoulder, spotted a cat, and let out a yelp.

“Where did — gah! Help!” He started turning in circles, ineffectually flailing his well-insulated arms. It did nothing to remove the cats, though maybe it kept them from climbing any higher.

“Faris, wait, Faris, hold still. Trust me. I’ll help you.”

Her request apparently sank in, because Faris stopped moving, except to put his hands protectively behind his head.

Serena frowned as she drew near, because for all their bloodthirsty nature and capacity to do serious damage to a person, the sabrecubs were really just babies, and rather adorable, and she hated harming monsters that could be persuaded to leave people alone by other means. Which was most monsters, these days.

So she reversed her spear and announced in her sternest tone, “You cats need to leave him alone, or I’m going to have to make you leave him alone! You two won’t like it if I have to get really serious about this.”

The cats stared at her for a couple of seconds. Then one went back to gnawing on Faris’s coat, and the other started climbing towards his head.

“Hey!” Serena said, moving the butt of her spear to block the climber. It reacted by snarling and pouncing onto the proffered end of her spear.

“Nope,” she said reprovingly, and she moved the spear a little bit so the end of it lay lengthwise between the bulk of the creature and Faris’s coat.

She knew that these monsters were in fact far sturdier than an average housecat. In fact, she’d seen a mother sabrecat bat her children away to go flying through the air upon tiring of their energy, and the cubs always landed on their feet and sprang away unharmed, half the time returning in apparent hopes of a second ride.

So she waited until the cub began to move to adjust its grip, and then she braced herself and swung the spear, treating it more like a catapult than a regular melee weapon.

To her satisfaction, the sabrecub went flying through the air to land safely in the snowdrift she was aiming for. Evidently, this didn’t qualify as agreeable play today: the cub made an offended yowl, scrabbled its way out of the deeper snow, and scampered away. Its sibling immediately leapt off of Faris’s back and dashed away after it.

For an instant, Serena felt halfway disappointed that the cats didn’t stick around to play, but then a bit of wordplay popped into her head. Delighted, she turned to share it without thinking. “My cat-apult worked purr-etty well, don’t you think?”

Faris looked at her with eyes wide and mouth open for just long enough that she started to feel self-conscious, and then he shouted, “Ha! Hahahaha!”

He doubled over into peals of laughter, which gave her permission to giggle over her own joke, and she did, until a long moment later when she remembered her earlier concern about attracting trouble by making noise. She glanced around the grove, but all she saw was the horse, standing still, chewing, and watching them judgmentally.

“Ah, that was brilliant!” Faris said as he caught his breath. Then he stood up straight, turned serious, and offered her a formal-looking bow. “Thank you, my lady. I deeply appreciate your aid in my time of need. I hate to impose further, but I seem to be having a minor difficulty. I wonder if you might stand in front of my horse while she circles around? I have been assured she is not inclined to hurt a person, but I cannot seem to catch up with her, and I do not want to just leave her here.”

“I brought a couple of apples along. Maybe she’ll be interested in a little variety.”

“Ah, wonderful!”

Serena nodded and reached into the pouch on her belt for the fruit. She placed herself along the circular path ahead of the majestic animal and held the apple out in front of her.

The mare seemed to give her a suspicious look, but she approached Serena slowly and dipped her head to inspect the offering.

“Hello, there,” Serena said gently. “I brought a gift for you. Wouldn’t you like to try another kind of fruit? It’s probably warmer than the stuff on the trees, because I’ve kept it underneath my cloak.”

Lady Thorborg stopped walking forward and closed her teeth on the fruit with surprising delicacy, and Faris took the opportunity to come up beside her, murmuring soft encouragement of his own. “That’s better. Hello, you magnificent creature. I wonder if we might try again? You deserve a cozy place to rest, and you’ll need a human to let you in.” He gently took hold of the reins and let out a soft sigh of relief when the horse didn’t fight him.

Then he glanced at Serena and said, “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to point me towards Arboria? I, ah, sort of lost my sense of direction while all this was going on, and I’m not completely certain if I ought to trust which way my noble steed chooses to set out, after this whole little distraction.”

“Actually, I came to look for you and offer to lead you back. It seemed a little thoughtless for Frysabel, er, Her Majesty, to leave you behind. What with you not being a local.”

“Oh, well, to be fair, I did declare myself as her escort, not the other way around, and I said I ought to be fine if she went ahead.” He gave her an awkward smile and smoothed the back of his hood.

“Even so.”

“No, please, don’t think poorly of her. I told her that a proper knight should be able to find his own way, and she only agreed.”

“Well.” Serena gave him a worried look. “Would it be all right if I were to act as your guide anyway?”

“I…” He hesitated, and for a moment, Serena feared that he would refuse out of a manly sense of pride, but then he sighed and said, “Yes. Please. I could use the help.”

“Wonderful,” she said, relaxing. “Well, if you like, you could ride the horse, and I’ll lead the way?”

“Ah...Well, that doesn’t seem right at all. A gentleman should not ride and leave a lady to walk. Please, if would be my honor if you would ride, and allow me to be the one on the ground.”

“Oh! Um…” Serena bit her lip and eyed the horse, which somehow seemed much taller than a moment ago.

She’d never done much in the way of riding. Or, well, any riding. She’d traveled with folks who knew how to ride, of course, and she’d even gotten to pet a horse now and then as a bonus of their companionship, but there were never enough horses available for hire for all of them, not the sort that knew how to find their way home if you set them free. And in traveling the world, their team had always needed to switch their modes of travel from flat terrain to climbing or sailing or flying so often that everyone agreed it didn’t make sense to buy a full set of their own personal horses.

“I really don’t think I would feel right about riding while you’re walking,” she said, which was also true. “Please don’t ask me to do that.”

“Oh. All right. I guess we could try...that is, of course we can ride double. It...shouldn’t be any problem. If you’re willing?”

“Oh! Yes, that sounds fine!” she said, because while riding alone was simply intimidating, riding double with a nobleman’s son was the stuff of all her favorite books, and the idea of being able to claim she’d shared a horse with a prince was too delightful to pass up.

Faris nodded, took a deep breath, and approached the horse. He climbed up and swung a leg over the saddle. “May I take your spear?”

She hesitantly handed it up to him, and he threaded it through an attachment to the saddle that she hadn’t noticed, so it stuck up in the air and out of the way.

Then Faris managed some small acrobatic maneuver to scoot backwards off the saddle and onto the horse’s bare back, leaving his feet dangling free of the stirrups. The mare swished her tail and tapped a hoof in the packed snow, and Faris leaned forward to pat her shoulder.

“All right, you can climb up in front of me now, and then you can take the reins,” he said, offering a hand for Serena.

As Serena looked at the horse and tried to picture herself riding it, she realized her long skirt would be quite unsuitable for riding astride. She had leggings on underneath to combat the cold, but they wouldn't be warm enough on their own. "I suppose I'll need to ride sidesaddle," she said uncertainly.

“Sidesaddle? Oh, of course, northern ladies do not always have riding skirts.” Faris gave her a briefly uncertain look, and then a smile.

As she went through an awkward negotiation of figuring out which hand and which foot to use with the saddle and stirrup in order to try to climb backwards onto a horse, she suddenly recalled a comment from Sylv when they spotted a Heliodoran noblewoman on horseback one day: “Sidesaddle is a job best left for circus performers. Hmm. Remind me to make her an offer if I ever get around to recruiting my own troupe!” they’d said.

Serena ended up at a loss, standing on the stirrup, one hand on the front of the saddle and one clutching Faris’s mitten, and no idea how to move herself the rest of the way up so she would actually be seated.

“I should have adjusted the stirrups,” Faris said apologetically. “I could try to lift you if you hang on to the pommel for a moment instead of my hand?”

“All right,” Serena said uncertainly.

Faris moved his hands to her waist and lifted her like she was made of feathers, and she let out a soft “oh” of surprise as he set her on top of the saddle. The horse moved her hooves a little as Serena settled, and she and Faris both clutched at the saddle for balance.

Faris left one hand at the small of her back to make sure she wasn’t about to fall. “Thank you,” she said, and she looked away, smiling.

Unfortunately, as became clear when the horse shifted again, Serena did not have much in the way of balance to spare, and Faris, even less. He made a small noise of alarm as he started to slide sideways, and Serena turned back to look at him.

“Oh!” Serena exclaimed as he began falling, and she grabbed at his sleeve to try to pull him back, but all she accomplished was to lose the last of her own precarious balance.

Fortunately, another snowdrift waited next to them. Faris landed first, somehow twisting in midair to land on his back like some kind of reverse cat, but fortunately cushioned by the soft snow. Serena slipped backwards off the saddle after him and made her own landing in the snow beside him.

Mostly beside him. She found that she’d landed on top of his arm, as he exclaimed, “Lady Serena, are you all right?” and tried to help lift her up.

“Oh, dear. I’m fine! Are you?”

“Yes, of course. Nothing is wounded but my pride,” he said, sounding faintly resigned.

“Well, at least we fell together, and there was only the horse to see,” Serena said, smiling and turning her head to look at him.

As she did, she discovered that his face was very close to hers, and she caught him in the middle of blooming from embarrassment into a genuine smile, and suddenly he caught her attention in a different way than he had so far today, despite the shapeless padding of his coat.

“That’s a fine point, my lady,” Faris said, much more cheerful than a moment before. He offered his free hand for hers and helped lever her out of the snow, once again lifting her as if she were made of air. Once she was upright, she braced herself and helped to pull him up after her, throwing all of her strength into the maneuver. Then they stood on the road with Lady Thorborg turned half around to stare at them.

“I should not have suggested riding double,” Faris said with an apologetic look. “I can barely stay in the saddle when my feet are in the stirrups, to tell you the truth.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, I should have thought. I just assumed…” Serena bit her lip, not wanting to give offense.

Faris nodded and sighed. “You assumed that I had learned more of the ways of the knight since we first met. I have! Truly, I have. I’ve been practicing every day, or trying to. But, well. In short, I could still stand to improve in some areas.”

“I suppose I shouldn’t have tried to improvise how to ride sidesaddle. I’ve only seen a few ladies do it from a distance, and Sylv once gave me a hint that it wasn’t as simple as it looked. I haven’t really ridden before at all.”

“Never?” Faris looked surprised.

Serena shook her head. “There are too many cliffs near my hometown. We keep goats, but not horses.”

“How strange. I have always assumed that everywhere would have at least a few horses, even if they do not take so much pride in them as Gallopolis.” He looked past her to the horse. “I do not suppose you have a second apple?”

“I do, actually.”

“Could I persuade you to part with it?”

She handed it over, and Faris shot her a grateful look before he approached the horse, speaking softly. “Lady Thorborg, I must beg your forgiveness once more. Please, accept this peace offering, and my promise not to try to ride again today.”

He approached slowly, apple-first, and this time, the horse allowed him to get close enough to put a hand against her shoulder while she ate. He kept up a quiet stream of praise and encouragement and ended up with the reins held loosely in his hand.

“I think she’ll come along with us if we simply lead her. Is it all right if we walk to where we’re going?”

“Yes, certainly.”

  


* * *

  


The walk to the waystation was illuminating. Somehow between their shared fall and what had passed between them, Faris seemed willing to drop the facade of competent prince and speak honestly to Serena.

“The thing is, I do not believe I am ever going to be the best of all knights.”

“Oh, don’t say that. I’m sure if you keep working at it —”

He held up a hand and shook his head, and Serena held her tongue to let him speak.

“I know that I could still become better at it than I am. I haven’t specifically decided I should not try. But…”

He paused and glanced over at her, and Serena looked back curiously. He seemed to come to some decision, and he took a deep breath before he spoke again.

“Ever since I was little, I thought that I was simply supposed to become a famous, powerful knight. My parents would be proud. Everyone would love me. It sounded wonderful. But I didn’t really understand what it meant.”

“Oh?” Serena said, reminded of her own youth and the expectations of her own hometown.

“Nothing about being a knight has ever come easily to me. I mix up my sword drills, even after months of the same practice. I get vertigo when I try to ride a horse. I still panic when I see anything with more than four legs in the palace, never mind a monster, and when I truly have to face it, I do not like the act of violence at all, no matter whether it is aimed at me or if I am the one who is supposed to perform it. The more honest effort I put in to make knighthood work, the more I think I am not suited for it. It has always sounded nice to have earned the status, but none of the actions it requires are appealing at all, and fame and admiration are not supposed to be the point of knighthood.”

He fell silent again, studying the road in front of them, and Serena pondered the story, debating which direction to take her response.

Finally, she said, “You know, when I was small, every last person in town already knew that Veronica and I were the reincarnation of our great sage, and we were both supposed to have incredible magic. Veronica had all kinds of magic, even when we were tiny, but I never could cast a single spell for the longest time. I tried and tried to cast any of the same combat spells she had at her fingertips, and I made her describe the way it felt over and over, hoping I would figure it out and become the great sage everyone said I was supposed to be. But nothing worked.”

Faris looked at her with wide eyes. “I never would have guessed. Even when we traveled into the desert together, I saw you casting magic with such confidence.”

“I think part of the problem was that I always tried to copy Veronica in the beginning. I tried the hardest to cast those offensive spells, since she always had the most trouble with healing magic, and I assumed I was supposed to be the same as her. Turns out, my own natural aptitude was for healing magic. I can do well enough now with wind magic and my spear if I need to, but back then, I struggled for so long to be something I was never going to be good at, and in the process, it took me a lot longer to find my own real strengths.”

“I am glad that you did find your way,” Faris said. Then he gave her an almost shy look, and he said, “I do not suppose it is as thrilling to hear about as competence in battle, but I have been putting a lot of time into trying to learn the other aspects of being a good leader. Diplomacy, and history and logistics. That sort of thing.”

“Diplomacy, like courting Frysabel?”

“Hm. Yes, exactly. I thought: even if I am never going to be the mighty sword arm Gallopolis deserves, I might be able to be useful in another way. There have been dozens of marriages made for political benefit within the histories of each of our kingdoms. Considering Frysabel herself as well as the rest of the scholars and sages among her people, such an alliance could benefit Gallopolis greatly.”

Serena chewed on her lip for a moment while she thought about this, then finally said, “But do you like Frysabel?”

“Ah. Well.” Faris looked away with a small, crooked smile. “When we were both six or so, her family came to our kingdom to visit. Our parents put us together to play. I pulled her braids, and she did not appreciate it, so she found a miniature cactus, froze it into an ice cube, and left it to melt on my bed.”

“Oh, dear.”

He shook his head. “I do not blame her. We were six. But I have always found her rather intimidating since then, and I suspect she has never once been terribly impressed with me.”

“But you’re still courting her?”

“I thought I should try. I have barely spent time with her in the years since then. Perhaps we might like each other as adults, I thought. I meant to give it my best. But it’s not looking entirely promising. This morning, she said something like, ‘If you have been working as hard at being a knight as I have at becoming a sage, you should be more than capable of carrying your weight on this journey.’ I do not think she will be excited about a suitor who cannot match her for combat prowess, and I fear I will never meet her requirements.”

“Well, it seems to me that you ought to find somebody you do like, and who treats you well, before you go getting into a courtship, politics or not. Don’t you think?”

“Perhaps so. My parents were fortunate to have fallen in love after their betrothal, but perhaps more kingdoms would be better off if their rulers married for love.”

“You can always hire a knight to be your champion.”

Faris nodded slowly. “That’s true. Or train a new one. And I, hah. I have finally started to realize that I could stand to share the fame I used to think I needed all to myself. So maybe I can persuade somebody else to take up that mantle. It has taken me years to be ready to admit it, but in truth, I would not mind making room for somebody else to be the Hero of Gallopolis.”

They rounded a corner, and the conversation was interrupted by the sight of the waystation, the sturdy little building meant for stabling horses overnight while their riders went up to Arboria. Faris brightened and hurried ahead of her, so that he reached the door first. He held it open for her, his other arm outstretched to keep the horse from moving forward.

“After you, my lady,” he said to Serena with a smile and a bow of his head.

Serena went inside and stepped out of the way as Faris brought the horse into a stall. Then he reversed course, dashed toward the small collection of furniture in the corner of the room, and hurried to pull a chair out from the little table. “Please, rest for a little while. I must take care of our noble steed.”

Serena blinked, then stepped forward to accept the seat. “For somebody who’s not so sure about knighthood, you certainly do have chivalric manners,” she said, a little bit charmed.

“My armsmaster says that if circumstance should ever find me alone with a lady, it is of the utmost importance to behave as the ideal gentleman in all ways,” he answered seriously.

“I see,” she said, and she couldn’t help smiling at that.

“It’s so warm in here, after that dreadful snow,” Faris said as he turned back toward the horse. “How is it so very much warmer in here?”

“Oh, the warming charms. Veronica helped with these ones. Takes a lot longer to cast than battle magic, but lasts a lot longer, too. The horses in Sniflheim are bred for the cold, but there’s no reason to leave them out in it overnight when we can keep a cozy space for them here.”

“That’s wonderful,” Faris said, pulling off his bulky coat and shaking the snow off of it, before hanging it up and turning to attend to his horse’s tack. “You deserve a nicy cozy place to rest after putting up with a prince who’s not the rider you deserve, Lady Thorborg. Let’s get this saddle off of you, and we’ll find a nice brush and a good dinner for you, eh?”

Serena sat and watched him work for a little while, her eyes drawn by the fine turquoise doublet with yellow trim that he’d worn underneath the heavy coat. She always appreciated bright colors, but furthermore, the garment was well-fitted, and it showed off where his shoulders had broadened over the past year or so. He lifted the tack up to hang on the wall as if it weighed nothing, and she remembered how easily he’d lifted her own body weight earlier. Whatever flaws he might have as a knight, simple physical strength certainly wasn’t one of his problems. In fact, free of the overcoat, he rather resembled the illustrations gracing the covers of several of her favorite novels.

But the bigger reason she couldn’t quite pull her eyes off of him was the way he treated the horse. He worked the brush over the mare with as much or more care than she’d seen Hendrik tend to Obsidian, and she knew how much Hendrik adored his horse. Faris kept up a soft commentary as he worked about how fine and lovely a creature she was, and how much he hoped she enjoyed the rest of the evening and her life in general. The mare’s eyelids started to droop, and when Faris set down the brush and slowly moved around to scratch under her jaw, she pressed her head into his chest, and he laughed gently.

“You really know your way around horses, don’t you?” Serena said, when he stepped away to search the supplies for extra treats.

“I’ve always loved them. Everything about them except for the riding part. My balance is terrible, but we get along well up until that part. Don’t we, Lady Thorborg?” he said as he approached the stall again. The horse butted him with her head again, and he smiled and gave her another scratch.

  


* * *

  


As they stepped outside, Serena checked the position of the sun, then frowned. It would be hard to make it all the way home before sunset.

“Prince Faris, I don’t mean to be bossy, but it’s getting a bit late, and the cliff path isn’t the easiest thing in the dark.”

“Oh. I am sorry. I did not mean to become a burden to you.”

“Oh, no, it’s not your fault. But, well, I had meant to offer you a choice, but now I would really rather recommend it: there is another way up to Arboria, but the path is secret.”

“Oh? Well, I am an old hat at keeping secrets, if you’ll trust me.”

“I’m afraid it’s not up to me. There’s a rule every Arborian follows: if we bring a guest through the secret way, we must blindfold them and lead them unseeing from the base of the mountain until reaching the town. I will lead you by the hand, and I promise I’ll keep you safe, if you’re willing to trust me.”

Faris hesitated, then smiled broadly. “If a beautiful lady asks to hold my hand for my own good, who am I to say no? Please, produce your blindfold.”

Serena blinked, then giggled, all her concern about giving offense evaporating. “All right. Hold still.”

She stood behind him and gently tugged his hood down, and as she lifted the blindfold, she couldn’t help but smooth his hair down with the idea that she didn’t want to get it caught in the knot she was about to tie. She didn’t realize until she was already in the middle of the gesture that this felt like an awfully forward sort of thing to do, especially to a prince.

A prince whose hand she was about to hold for upwards of an hour. Who was kind to animals. Who was full of both manners and flattery when traveling with a lady. Who seemed handsomer the longer she looked at him.

But he didn’t react, so she bit her lip, finished tying the blindfold in place, and pulled his hood back up for him. He waited until her footsteps crunched around to his side, and he extended one mittened hand to her with a smile in her general direction. “Lead on, O Keeper of Mysteries.”

She had a thought as she took his hand that it would be more fun if he wasn’t wearing such bulky mittens, and then she shook her head at herself.

At least she had a little time before Veronica was there to tease her about sliding into a new crush. A little time where she could indulge in a story about herself walking hand in hand with a prince, and maybe daydream for a few minutes about becoming a princess.


	3. Chapter 3

Serena led Faris into the hidden cave entrance that led up to Arboria, and she deliberately struck up a conversation as she did, figuring it must be stressful enough to have to rely on someone else to lead him this with his sight obscured, without also having to follow in silence.

“In case of an emergency, the path is marked with glowing crystals,” she said. “They’re a bit dusty, but there’s plenty of light. I don’t think we’ve led anyone through the cave path for years. Even when we brought the Luminary through, we went up the cliffs topside instead.”

“Didn’t you say this way is superior?”

“It is, historically, and recently. But back when we were traveling, monsters had started nesting everywhere in the caves, and it got to be more of a hassle than the outdoor path. Since the end of the Dark Star, it’s become much easier to encourage everything hostile to move back out. We still run into something once in a while in here, but I’ll be more than a match for anything that tries to bother us.”

Faris nodded. “I leave my life in your hands.”

Serena glanced over at him, startled and pleased. “Oh.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No. It’s just, well, I know I’m perfectly capable of an escort mission on my own, but no one’s been so ready to trust me before. I’m always with Veronica, and after I took so long to learn my magic, she still thinks of me as the one she needs to protect, even now. So do most of the people of Arboria, I think.”

“You have saved me once already today. And all of Gallopolis witnessed you there atop the flying whale to face the Dark Star itself. I do not think a single person in my kingdom would doubt your courage or capability, least of all myself.”

“Oh. Thank you,” she said, feeling her face warm.

  


* * *

  


The conversation turned to small talk about the differences between their hometowns for a while, and Serena found it a rare treat to travel alone together with a friendly companion other than her sister. Veronica was wonderful company, but spending a day with someone else for a change of pace was a delight.

Or maybe it was specifically the company she was keeping, today. Faris seemed to have cast off the greater part of his self-importance, and with a touch of humility added to his nature, she found that he was in fact very pleasant to talk to.

While holding hands, on a long walk alone in a tunnel.

“Speaking of geographical differences,” he said, “Is it just me, or is it becoming much warmer again?”

“Oh! Yes, it should be.” Serena realized she’d already thrown her warm cloak open without thinking about it, while Faris was still bundled up for the snow. “Even though it’s high up in the mountains, Arboria is much warmer than the Snaerfelt. Something about proximity to Yggdrasil and the First Forest, we think, where it’s always green, no matter the season.”

“Incredible. I had thought I would need the coat all day and night, but I believe I might have to remove it soon.”

“Of course. I should have thought to ask. Shall we stop for a moment?”

They paused, and Faris handed his mittens to Serena to hold while he undid the buttons on his heavy coat. He retrieved the mittens, stuck them under his belt, and hooked the coat over one of his shoulders, hanging on to the end of it with one hand. “That’s much better,” he said.

And he offered his bare hand for her to hold.

She was wearing gloves, herself, and she told herself it only made sense to take them off while they were stopped, so she wouldn’t become unduly warmer than Faris. But as soon as she finished yanking them off and she had tucked them away, she admitted silently that her choice had something more to do with the opportunity to hold his hand, skin-to-skin, than actual practicality. 

If it wasn’t for the blindfold he still wore, she was certain he would have something to say about the sudden redness of her face in reaction to her own behavior. If Veronica was here, she absolutely would have a number of things to say, most of which would only turn Serena’s face redder.

She looked over reflexively to double check that Faris’s blindfold was still securely over his face, which it was, so he couldn’t see her making any funny faces. Nor could he see her eyes drifting over his well-fitted jacket, or whatever expression she made while wondering what it would be like to fall off a horse into his arms while he wasn’t wearing the thicker overcoat.

His hand shifted to settle a little more closely against hers, still a perfectly respectable level of contact. Still plausibly innocent. Even if it held more of her attention than she knew she had to give.

Then he casually shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and the movement reminded her that she was supposed to be guiding him to Arboria, not just standing around holding his hand. She cleared her throat. “Ready?” she asked, and she thought she managed to keep a reasonably normal tone of voice.

“Ready,” he answered.

A little quiet stretched out between them for a minute as they walked forward, while Serena couldn’t think of any topic other than hand-holding. Faris was the first to break the silence.

“I had thought I was learning a great deal about the world by the reading I have been doing, but I see the books have not taught me everything I could stand to know.”

For a wild instant, Serena assumed this was a pickup line, that he was experiencing some of the same delighted panic that she was over the feeling of their palms touching, and that he wanted to talk about it. “Oh?” she said, and this time her voice maybe came out a little higher pitched than usual.

“First, that you do not have horses, and now this, about the climate in your town. I know a little about Arboria’s history and location, but I am starting to wonder how much I have missed out on by trusting books alone.”

“Oh.” Serena said, struggling to push her mind back onto a more mannerly track. “Yes, I have found there are quite a few things I could only learn by traveling. But the reverse is true, too! Books have given me quite a few bits of information I never would have figured out from traveling alone.”

“Truly?”

“Certainly. I would have taken forever to notice the Heliodoran tradition of naming people after gemstones on my own if I hadn’t read ‘Sir Emerald’s Notoriety.’”

As soon as she spoke the name of the romance novel, Serena winced. That was definitely not the sort of reading material she ought to be recommending to a polite, well-mannered, possibly sheltered prince. Hopefully he wouldn’t remember the name to seek it out later, or else he was going to have a very different impression of her after he read it —

“Oh, you have read the Sir Emerald novels? Those are some of my favorites! I greatly admire the hero and the way he is considerate to everyone he meets, even while he is still living in disgrace.”

“I, um. Yes. They are some of my favorites as well,” Serena admitted, comforting herself that no one could see how red her face was. At least, if Faris was prepared to ignore the racy elements of the story for the purposes of discussion, she could do the same. So she added, “The hero is quite a gentleman.”

“I’ve made up little stories based on the books and told them to the cats. About him revealing his secrets to his traveling companions, or about…” Faris paused and turned his head, as if he was trying to look in Serena’s direction through the blindfold.

“Yes?”

“Sometimes I would make up a series of adventures that his lady would go on, where the tables were turned and she was the one doing the rescuing.”

“Really? So have I!” Serena exclaimed, forgetting her prior embarrassment.

“Really?” Faris heaved a sigh of relief. “So few tales have a lady being the hero, but I always wished…” He cleared his throat, then laughed a little awkwardly. “Maybe that’s a bigger part of the reason why I came to see Frysabel than I thought. I am certain she would be a better hero than I, if the need arose. If either of us actually liked each other’s company, I would think it a wonderful match.”

“You’re looking for a knight in fluttering armor?” Serena said, feeling her face crinkle up into a smile.

“I suppose I am. Do you think that is strange?”

“Not really. I think it’s sweet, actually. I would love to have someone take me seriously as a hero, without having to change the way I speak or dress.”

“Lady Serena, I did not speak in jest earlier. All you need to do to find that attitude is to set foot into Gallopolis. You will have the admiration of all of us.” He gave her hand a little squeeze for emphasis. 

Serena felt her heart beat faster with the sudden notion that she had just suggested herself in the role of his apparently ideal romantic interest, and he had acknowledged that she did fit the mold.

For a moment, she thought she was hearing her heartbeat aloud.

Then she realized she was actually hearing something else from down a side tunnel. She looked over and saw the spiky silhouettes of a group of three heavily-armed robots moving out of the shadows: would-be killing machines.

“Ah, well now, speaking of heroics,” she said, giving Faris’s hand a quick squeeze of apology before she let go of him and reached for her spear. “Looks like we’ve got company. Nothing I can’t handle, but you should take off your blindfold. We’re near the exit, so if you start to feel unsafe, you should run right on down the main tunnel, and when you make it outside, just head toward the big statue of Serenica until you reach the town.”

“Ah,” Faris said, a little wariness in his voice as he pulled off the blindfold and laid eyes on the rather unfriendly looking machines brandishing more weapons than they had any business carrying. But rather than backing away, he threw his coat aside and drew his sword. Serena finished casting the spells for the appropriate magical protection at the same time Faris moved to her side in a defensive stance. 

“Lady Serena,” he said, “Please let me know if you want me to try to attack. Otherwise I shall keep out of your way.”

“Right. Thank you,” she said absently, as she eyed the rapidly narrowing distance between the two of them and the enemies.

There was no reasoning with such a robot, not the ones that approached humans of their own accord with weapons in hand. For everyone’s good, she needed to be sure these ones wouldn’t be bothering anyone again.

So she waited until they were close enough for her magic to take effect, and she summoned a sharp gust of wind to knock one of the machines into another, leaving them both in a heap, and she braced herself to meet the charge of the third one with her spear.

The length of her weapon allowed her to fend off her enemy without letting it reach her with its own blades. She jabbed her spear at a leg joint of the robot, and it crashed to the ground.

One of the windblown machines looked to be down for the count, but the last one climbed upright and began charging towards her. Worried about letting it past to threaten Faris if she only dodged, Serena decided instead to meet it with an attack of her own. She began to run towards it, hoping to make up for her lesser mass with more momentum, and she was able to knock it backwards with her spear so it flailed and wobbled and blinked its lights.

The collision knocked her back, too. She had a tight enough grip on her weapon that instead of dropping it, she stumbled several steps backwards and fell.

Faris stepped forward and edged between her and the still-twitching machine. He held his sword forward with one hand, and he held his other hand behind him as he moved closer to Serena, and it took her a second to realize he was offering her a hand up. She smiled and placed a hand in his, and his grip was strong enough to pull her right up to a standing position at his side.

“Thank you,” she said, and then she pulled her hand free to summon another wind spell, throwing all three of the machines against the cavern wall. This time, none of them got back up.

After a moment of silence, Faris asked, “Is that it? Are they done?”

“Yes. They won’t be a menace here again.”

“Ha ha! Incredible!” Faris edged forward and poked at one of the robots’ fallen swords with his own, then shook his head and backed away.

“I hope that wasn’t too awful for you,” Serena said. “I promised a safe trip, and then I go and bring you in front of the scariest looking things in the region. It was brave of you to stand your ground with me.”

“In truth, though I would not be sorry to avoid such monstrosities in the future, it was entirely worth it for the chance to watch you in action, fair lady hero,” Faris said, smiling and meeting her eyes. “With you to keep me safe, I was not afraid for a moment.”

“Oh,” Serena said, pressing a hand to her cheek and smiling back. Somehow she felt powerful and virtuous and beautiful all at the same time, and she felt that she wouldn’t mind fighting something else for him.

As they put their weapons away, Serena glanced toward the last bend in the tunnel. “I hate to be a nuisance, and I know I was ready to let you go without it a minute ago, but would you mind awfully if I ask you to wear the blindfold again? It’s just that without any immediate danger, I really should follow the usual rules.”

“Not at all, my lady. I will be happy to wear a blindfold and hold your hand again.”

He studied her face with a small smile, which grew when he saw her smile in return. He brandished the blindfold and stepped toward her. “If you would?”

She reached to accept the strip of cloth, and he pressed it into her hands with both of his. But he didn’t let go right away — instead, he let his hands rest on hers with the blindfold between them.

“Lady Serena,” he said, serious now. “I do not think that I ought to say everything I would like to say, just now. Not before I have had the opportunity to officially call off the courtship with Frysabel. But I would like to say thank you. For protecting me, and guiding me, and talking with me. Today has gone from one of the worst days I can remember to one of the best, instead. I would like it very, very much if you would choose to visit Gallopolis in the future as my honored guest. And...perhaps spend some more time in my company?”

“I would like that very much, too,” Serena said, and this time she couldn’t have held back the smile if she tried.

Faris lit up in response. He squeezed her hands around the blindfold, then dipped his head in a nod before he released her and turned around, with a lingering look over his shoulder, picked up his coat, and said, “I am ready when you are.”

This time, after she tied the blindfold and reached for his hand, his palm settled against hers like it belonged there. His thumb slid over her knuckle in a tiny, plausibly deniable caress, and she gave his hand a squeeze before she gently pulled him toward the exit.

  


* * *

  


“All right, we’re on the road looking into town now, so you’re free to take your blindfold off now,” Serena said, with another squeeze of Faris’s hand before she released him.

Then her eye caught on a pair of figures just outside the town limit, and she bit her lip, wondering if she should have called a greeting first.

Veronica stood behind Frysabel, her chin hooked over one of Frysabel’s shoulders and her arm around Frysabel’s waist, while Frysabel pointed up at the sky, evidently telling Veronica something or other about the stars. It might have been an innocent pastime, but it wasn’t really the politest posture given the situation.

Then again, maybe hand-holding with unspoken intent wasn’t all that much more polite.

“Hello!” Serena called out, with an apologetic glance to Faris. He didn’t seem to notice; he was busy watching the other couple on the road with a bemused expression.

Veronica and Frysabel looked down to see them, and Veronica took her time about letting go of Frysabel, as if making it clear that she wasn’t sorry to let anyone see. Then she raised her arm in a wave.

“You’re back. I was just thinking about starting to worry,” Veronica said as they approached.

“We’re back, and we’re fine,” Serena answered.

Frysabel touched Veronica’s arm lightly, then stepped forward to bow her head. “Prince Faris. I am glad to see you well. I trust you had no great difficulty?”

Faris inclined his head in return. “With the brave Lady Serena to guide me, the journey was a walk in the garden.”

“That is good to hear.” Frysabel looked aside for a moment, then straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin, and declared, “Your Highness, I must ask your forgiveness, but I have determined that I cannot choose political expediency as a primary consideration for marriage. I find that I require love, and I fear that through no fault of your own, I am unlikely to find what I am looking for with you.”

Faris stared for a moment, and in spite of her own newfound hopes, Serena felt her eyebrows draw together in sympathy.

But then Faris smiled as he bowed his head, and he said, “There is nothing to forgive, Your Majesty. I too have spent the day coming to the realization that love should come before bureaucracy. It was foolish of me to suggest courtship when a simple diplomatic visit might have sufficed. Let us call the matter off and think no more of it.”

Frysabel visibly relaxed. “I hope this will not negatively affect the relationship between our kingdoms?”

“No. I am grateful, actually. If events had not played out this way, I might never have had the opportunity to spend an entire afternoon with the good Lady Serena. I believe I may be in your debt forever.”

Faris smiled and turned his head to look at Serena, as if he had been longing to do so for hours and meant to make up for lost time now that the blindfold was gone along with his prior obligation. She felt her face warm up with an answering smile, felt herself lean towards him, felt her hand twitch with the idea of holding his again.

Veronica burst out laughing. “So that’s how it is? Hah. Maybe if your royal selves are both extremely lucky, you’ll end up with a marriage alliance after all. Just an extra step removed.” She stepped forward to snake an arm around Frysabel’s waist again.

“Veronica!” Serena half-protested, laughing, but not bothering to deny anything. Veronica always could read her like a book.

“What? I do not follow. What does she mean?” Faris asked Serena in a low voice.

“She means if she and Frysabel, and you and I...And she’s my sister, so…” Serena waved one hand in vague illustration and covered half her face with the other, torn between mortification and thrill over the idea of some hypothetical future double wedding.

“Oh. Oh! Ha ha! Extremely lucky indeed. Not, not that I, I mean, I would not presume already, ah…” For once, to Serena’s delight, Faris was the one to blush.

Serena shook her head, smiling. “Come on,” she said, and she grabbed his hand with hers to pull him towards her family’s home.


End file.
